Settling down here, so you'll always know where to find us.

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015

The ‘A’ Word

I have been dragging my feet on writing this post all week.

I’d like to just put up some cute photos of my kid or my husband or our dog and tell you something funny they did this week. Or maybe something about a new restaurant we tried, or a new place we visited.

But the purpose of this blog is to keep our family and friends in touch and informed. That means I’m responsible for telling you what’s actually happening around here, not just how much fun we’re having.

So here you go: as a result of his Birth to Three assessment, Nolan is being tested for autism.

He failed the M-CHAT, which stands for Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers. It’s only an initial screening (which you can find here, if you’re curious), meaning the results do not constitute a diagnosis of any kind.

It does, however, mean that further evaluation is strongly recommended. Official testing hasn’t actually happened yet; it begins soon with an occupational therapist we’ve yet to meet.

Am I freaking out? Off and on.

Am I overreacting? Maybe.

My only experience with autism was a family member being tested and diagnosed in the mid-90’s. Back then, people were still finding out what autism was; it certainly wasn’t widely known as a spectrum (as in, Autism Spectrum Disorder).

(Of course, I was twelve years old; I may not have been paying proper attention at the time.)

Twenty years later, the word ‘autism’ is by turns a scare tactic, a political football for celebrities, or an agent of general panic for the uninformed. (Example: yours truly.)

So there it is. That’s what we’re tackling going into the next few weeks.